Category: Blogging

Spring Season Finale

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 18, 2020

Greetings my friends. Thanks for checking-in and tracking with me. Happy Thursday June 18TH 2020. It’s the start of another weekend of blogging here at #CountUp – because weekends begin on Thursday mornings. This weekend is special though, as it’s my “Spring Season Finale” (hence the title). What does that mean ? That means it’s time to take a break from social media after 15½ weekends of non-stop blogging and 63 posts in a row.

This Spring season of blogging began on Sunday March 08TH 2020 – just as the global pandemic was gaining steam and forcing us into seclusion in our own homes. I had just returned from a Pastors’ conference of 5,000+ strong in Orlando as well as a MercyMe / Jeremy Camp concert in a packed sports arena near Fort Myers.

This past Monday and Tuesday I drove 21 and 22 miles respectively (to and from my workplace). That 22 miles was (incredibly) the most miles driven in a single day in over 3 months. I actually filled-up my car with gas that day for the first time in 50 days. I had previously gone 48 days between fill-ups.

This past Tuesday was also a rare 3-mile walking day for me (as per my Fitbit). It was the first one in over a month, and only the 9TH one since the global pandemic began. (3 miles is a little over 6,500 steps for me.)

So once this weekend is over I’ll be walking more, I’ll be driving more, and I’ll be getting more natural Vitamin D – outdoors. I’ll be driving about 1,700 miles (round-trip) after this weekend. That’s about the number of miles I’ve driven since February 01ST 2020 ! I’ll share the details with you when I return after the 04TH of July. #RoadTrip

But this weekend is just getting started. I’ll be back tomorrow (Friday) for an all-new RETRO from 2000. On Sunday I’ll share God’s Word with you. And then on Monday it’s my brand new Top 10 music chart. After that I’ll be on hiatus for almost 2 weeks.

I’ll catch you tomorrow. Have a great Thursday !

Tags Blog, Christian

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 14, 2020

This is My command: Love each other. (John 15:17 NLT)

“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen – O Israel ! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NLT)

Live a life filled with love – following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us – a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:2 NLT)

Christ loved us so much that He took away the punishment that we so deserved by dying for us on the cross. That sacrifice alone obligates us to love everyone. It’s his top two commandments, but they are not independent of each other. They are really one integrated commandment: Love Him / Love others.

There was not much love in my family growing up, and even once I grew up and was on my own there was not much love in me. I didn’t know what love was. I thought I did, but I didn’t. My heart, soul, mind, and strength was warped by the world and blinded by the enemy. It wasn’t until salvation began 14 summers ago that I began to discover love. I learned what love is by turning away from the world – and turning towards our loving God. I finally realized that I am capable of truly loving others.

“If the world hates you – remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. (John 15:18-19 NLT)

It’s so easy to say and do what our family, our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, complete strangers, Internet, Radio, TV, and Movie stars, politicians, and other leaders are saying and doing. Believing and following and blending in with the world around us is simple. It’s automatic. You can do that without even trying.

But obeying Christ can be difficult at times. It can even seem impossible. Personally it’s harder than anything I’ve ever experienced before Christ. But with Christ all things are possible, and the results are surely worth it ! The results are based on a life and death decision. I choose to follow God Almighty – Lord of Glory – rather than the physical world. The world has let me down over and over again. God has never ever let me down. He never will.

There are people in our world – within eyesight – within hearing range – within our immediate circle – and in this world overall – that just don’t like us anymore – because we’ve publicly accepted our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into our lives. They just don’t want to have anything to do with us anymore. They don’t want to associate with the loonies – the nutcases – the radicals – the extremists – that we’ve been labeled as believers and followers of Christ. Those are just some of the milder labels that the world has given us in its hate. You and I and my closest brothers and sisters on this journey have been called all of these words (and much worse). We’ve been placed in a box or a basket – perhaps even a basket of deplorables. That’s fine. Christ loves us always and forever, and that’s all we need. All we need to do is to just keep on loving and praying for everyone in the whole wide world.

I urge you – first of all – to pray for all people. Ask God to help them, intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. (1 Timothy 2:1 NLT)

Pray for all people – not some people – not just the believers and followers – not just our family and friends – not just the people that look like us. Pray for all people, as all people are God’s children.

Tags Blog, Christian, Love

Blogging Career Home Life Military

Anniversaries

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 11, 2020

It’s Thursday June 11TH 2020, and weekends begin on Thursdays here at #CountUp. This is the start of another weekend of blogging for me. Tomorrow (Friday) it’s RETRO, and I’ll check-out my life and times via music from this weekend 15 years ago in 2005.

I’m observing a series of personal anniversaries during this first-half of June. I graduated from high school 35 years ago last weekend. I attended all 4 years (1981-1985) at Langley High School. YES – That’s the same Langley that is also the home of the Central Intelligence Agency. Many of my classmates were sons and daughters of CIA agents, and many others were sons and daughters of senators and congresspersons. I was an odd one out there. I wasn’t rich. I wasn’t cool. Nobody remembers me from high school – aside from perhaps my Spanish 1 teacher from 1981-1982. I actually follow him on Facebook, and he sends me “Happy Birthday” greetings each year. I wonder if he really remembers me ?

35 years ago tomorrow is my official 35TH Anniversary in the United States Air Force. It’s the day that I left home for a new life and adventure. It unexpectedly became my career. It’s been a pretty good career. There were some bad years including a 13-year pit of despair (1994-2007). But that’s been followed by a 13-year peak (2007-2020) that I hope continues on until the day that I retire and move away from here.

Speaking of moving away from here – I moved in to my current home 25 years ago this Saturday (June 13TH). It’s the longest I’ve ever lived in a single home in my entire life, and it’s not even close. I previously lived in the same home for 5 years and 9 months (1975-1980) as a kid in Lanham Maryland. I moved in to my current home as a 28-year-old who had never set foot in or even knew of this neighborhood’s existence until a few days before I actually moved in. A local Real Estate agent showed me this home, and she didn’t have to show me any other. I accepted it. It’s one of the best decisions of my life. I rented it for 6 years, and then I bought it.

So that’s where I am during this 2ND week of June of 2020. I hope that you’re having a better June than was your March, April, and May. We’re getting back to normal after an unexpected season in hibernation. Let’s root for each other. Let’s cheer each other on. Let’s be nice to each other. Let’s love our neighbor.

Tags Blog, Christian

Blogging Life Music Radio Television

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1971

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 5, 2020

I love doing this feature on Fridays. It’s an ode to my long-running hobby of a #CountUp of the top pop hits each week. It’s also a nod to my previous endeavor online – the predecessor to this blog – my own once-popular dot.com hit music web site that ran from the late-1990s through the first year of my salvation. I once had a feature on there called “The Major’s MASSIVE Memories” where I highlighted the greatest hits of my life.

Today – Friday June 05TH 2020 – is my 53RD birthday ! It feels great to be 53. Some days I feel 53. Some days I feel older than 53. Other days I feel younger. Speaking of younger:

YEP – That’s me from exactly 49 years ago on Saturday June 05TH 1971. There I am turning 4 years old blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. That was in our cozy apartment in Greenbelt Maryland.

If I was listening to the radio on that day (and I probably was) I was listening to WWDC AM-1260 where I first discovered pop music. Here are the Top 5 hits from coast-to-coast on my 4TH birthday:

1. “Brown Sugar” – The Rolling Stones
2. “Joy To The World” – Three Dog Night
3. “Want Ads” – The Honey Cone
4. “It Don’t Come Easy” – Ringo Starr
5. “Rainy Days And Mondays” – The Carpenters

I loved Three Dog Night growing up as a little kid, and I still love them today. “Joy To The World” is actually in heavy rotation today on my iTunes Library and iPod Shuffles. It’s one of the greatest hits of my life. Here’s Three Dog Night performing at the cocktail party on the Monday November 29TH 1971 episode of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” – one of my favorite TV shows back in the day: